Responsible travel is that which adheres to the notion that a better place to live is simply a better place to visit.

We want to share some awesome new Responsible Travel resources with the world, but we need your help. Let us know what we should add to this page and please help spread the word about Responsible Travel Week, February 13-19, 2017

Responsible tourism and how we get there is a story that must be told by locals, visitors and everyone in between.

Is responsible tourism different than sustainable tourism?

Cape Town Tourism: Responsible tourism and sustainable tourism have the same goal, namely sustainability and they share the same pillars – environmental integrity, social justice and maximum local economic benefit. Responsible tourism asks individuals, organizations, governments and businesses to take responsibility for their actions and the effects of their actions. Everyone involved must be responsible for sustainability.

Is responsible tourism mainstream?

Essay

Responsible getaways offer less artificiality and more down-to-earth hospitality!

The problem with RT is that the DEFINITION excludes wildlife

We are connecting with friends who aspire to responsible travel and tourism everyday. The best way to keep the movement growing is to see what everyone else around the world is actually doing.

Meanwhile, we try to promote responsible travel every day. Join us!

Prove to yourself that responsible travel is a possibility. If you're not convinced, be skeptical and ask questions. If you are convinced, help others get the 'big picture' by practicing RT yourself. Our view is that responsible travel is more about action than philosophizing. Rather than preaching to the converted, we preach what we practice and amplify the stories of those who inspire. Not everyone will do 100% of RT 'things to do' list, so let's be realistic. Let's do a few things and do what we can to make RT more trendy.

Says noted author and activist Deborah McLaren: "Responsible tourism is based on ethics and human rights. It also means support for community-based travelers' programs -- homestays, guest cottages, ethno-museums, and educational programs that bring tourist dollars directly into communities."

Events

Recent Events

Questions

What are the best ways to support responsible tourism initiatives during an economic recession?
How do we design responsible tourism in a digital age?
What are the boundaries of responsible tourism?
Are there ways of hearing players whose voices have not been heard?
Are there ways to encourage a more inclusive, integrated approach?
Where do we find common ground?
How can tourism educate and seduce us toward sustainable practices?
What can developing economies teach developed economies about responsible tourism?
How do we minimize corruption in tourism?
What are the dos and donts of responsible tourism?
What's left unsaid during 'responsible tourism' conferences?

Origins

Transitions Abroad

Transitions Abroad has long advocated the type of travel that keeps in mind a place’s culture, people, and environment. The majority of articles in each issue have always incorporated some or all of these aspects of what is considered “responsible travel.” Even so, in the 1980s Clay Hubbs felt this subject warranted its own section. Responsible Travel Resources provides information to help you plan trips that not only do not exploit locals and their homes but even contribute to their wellbeing.

Could we agree on a code of conduct?
Could we create a scorecard to evaluate individual academics or academic centers?
Should academics be permitted to cite unpublished reports?
How do universities maintain public directories of alumni?

How is your conference green?
Spotlight on current and recent events, including RT Conference in Belize, Ecotourism Australia and WTM
Does anyone want to participate in the rural tourism conference in 2010?
Is anyone attending the Reisepavillion in Germany in April 2010?
Is there support for the Maori Indigenous Ecotourism Conference in late 2010?

Playlist

Misc

Options of suggesting 'drink responsibly' and 'don't drink and drive'

Depending on your perspective, there is something for everyone to cringe about.

Wishlist: Better Events

I wish conferences move beyond mutual back-patting and host more discussions in which there is genuine conversation.
Can responsible tourism move from preaching to the coverted to embracing a wider public
More partnerships using freemium model
More DJs

Quotes

The quest of the responsible traveller is to learn, to be understanding, to share, to contribute – rather than to act as a consumer who seeks maximum gratification at a minimum expense.
- Rolf Wesche and Andy Drum, Defending our Rainforest

For those who talk up responsible ethical sustainable tourism without actually doing anything, i say 'practice what you preach.' To those who are doing the good work of responsible ethical sustainable tourism, i say 'preach what you practice.'- Ron Mader, comment on Being Responsible

You can't label chocolate as something else -- or, worse, sell it as different-tasting vanilla -- for long. Eventually chocolate just has to be chocolate. And so, more and more, if/when an editor balks at anything with responsible leanings simply because it uses weightier words or admonishes travelers for bad behavior, I'm less and less hesitant to hold my tongue.
- Ethan Gelber, LinkedIn

Being a responsible traveller means having an amazing experience, while at the same time giving back to the people and the environment you visited. It is a commitment to honouring the people and places that made your holiday happen.
- Fair Trade Tourism

Says Deborah McLaren: “Responsible tourism is based on ethics and human rights. It also means support for community-based travelers’ programs, including homestays, guest cottages, ethno-museums, and educational programs that bring tourist dollars directly into communities.”

RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL RESOURCES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

I. UNTWO’s World Responsible Tourism Programmehttp://www.wtmresponsibletourism.com*You might want to get involved and promote your work around World Responsible Tourism Day. It’s BIG.

WTM hosts the world's most comprehensive, searching and thought-provoking agenda on responsible tourism. The WTM Responsible Tourism Programme runs for the duration of the exhibition, centring on the pioneering WTM World Responsible Tourism Day (in 2015 it will be on Nov 4), in association with the UNWTO.WTM Responsible Tourism aims to bring together travel companies, organisations and individuals interested in spreading sustainable practices and ethical methods within the travel industry. This website provides year-round content highlighting the work communities take part in around the world, to help build a solid, sustainable future for travel and tourism. Wednesday 4 November is WTM World Responsible Tourism Day 2015, marked not only at World Travel Market, but around the world with special events, communications and consumer promotions, demonstrating the industry’s determination to make a real difference.We encourage and permit businesses which are actively engaged in promoting RT to use our WRTD logo, by applying using the 'logo application form'. The WRTD logo is not a certificate of responsible business and we are not a certification agency.

The World Responsible Tourism Awards (co-sponsored by the BBC) are a global search for and celebration of the most inspiring and enduring responsible tourism experiences in the world. Now in their 12th year, the Awards will this year celebrate achievements in 12 categories reflecting some of the most important issues in responsible tourism today - including cultural heritage, accessibility, animal welfare and conservation. Join us for the celebration as part of WTM World Responsible Tourism Day. Link to a list of winners: http://www.responsibletravel.com/awards/winners/2014.htm

II. The International Centre for Responsible Tourism, Leeds Metropolitan, MSc in Responsible Tourism (much of this information is from their website - thank you!)http://www.icrtourism.org/what-is-responsible-tourism/“Making Better Places to Live In, And Better Places to Visit”

ICRT’s Definition of RT: The Contribution of Responsible Tourism• minimises negative economic, environmental, and social impacts;• generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host communities, improvesworking conditions and access to the industry;• involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances;• makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world’s diversity;•provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and agreater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues;• provides access for physically challenged people; and• is culturally sensitive, engenders respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence

IV. Organisations around the world, which share a commitment to the principles of the Cape Town Declaration and which work to use tourism “to make better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit.” As sisters the ICRTs each work in different ways appropriate to their local circumstances and local partnerships to pursue the objectives of the Cape Town Declaration.

Questions: Based on the principles of Open Access, to what degree does (insert name here) generate content? Are works licensed by Creative Commons? Are public Google Docs or wikis used to develop, brainstrom and publish?